Odell moaned again. As distressed and weak as he sounded and looked, I wondered how a stuck-up fake like him managed not to cry, too. If he did, I’d have even less respect for him. “You done pushed me close to the edge, man.”

“Well, you got yourself in this fix,” I reminded him. “All I care about is you giving me that money before you fall over that edge. Understand?”

He reminded me of a trapped animal: a rat caught in a trap he’d set hisself. “I-I-I understand,” he stuttered, which I thought was a major sign of weakness in a man.

“Now look on the bright side, this could be even worse.”

Odell gulped and put on a poker face that looked hard enough to bounce a dime off. “What could be worse than you asking me for four hundred dollars I ain’t got?”

“Asking you for five hundred.”

He groaned so loud, folks out on the street probably heard him. His eyes darkened and a scowl crossed his face that would have stopped a clock. “Listen and listen good. I would never give you that kind of money—not even in your dreams! Furthermore, I advise you to come to your senses before it’s too late!” he blasted. The way his shoulders was drooping now told me he didn’t have too much more steam left in him. He was so comical, I wanted to laugh. Instead, I stood there like a mute, staring at him like he was going straight-up crazy. Maybe he was, but nutcases didn’t scare me. If anything, his crazy-acting outburst only made me more determined to get what I wanted sooner, in case he ended up in one of them asylums. That would have put him out of commission, too. “Knowing you, even after I give you the four hundred, you’ll still expect them eight dollars I been paying you every week, right?”

“Yup. But there’s another bright side to look at.” I exhaled and puffed out my chest, proud of myself for being such a shrewd businessman and staying focused when it came to dealing with Odell.

“The only other bright side I can think of is you and Yvonne disappearing!” he yelled with his teeth clenched. It amazed me how fast his voice could rise so high. He was practically roaring at me. “And I mean for good!”